Lunchtime News Tuesday 9th June 2020

Testing coronavirus - From Wednesday 10th June, residents in Nice will be able to be tested free of charge for Covid-19.

To benefit from the free serological test the inhabitants of Nice must obtain an appointment via a form on the website www.despitagecovid19.nice.fr or by phone at 04.97.13.56.00, available Monday to Friday from 9h to 19h. You will also need to specify if you have ever had any symptoms and, if so, on what date.

Once your registration has been completed, you will receive confirmation by email or text within 24 hours indicating the day, the time slot, and the screening center in which the blood test will take place. The wearing of the mask is compulsory, and you are required to come with your confirmation of appointment, ID and proof of address.

The tests are open to everybody over the age of 3 whose residence is located in Nice. The tests are completely anonymous, and the local council will not have access to the applicants' personal information.

Pavillon Bleu - Three beaches on the Côte d’Azur have lost their “Pavillon Bleu” or Blue flag label. The Blue Flag label was created by the Teragir association in 1985 and each year awards environmentally friendly beaches and ports.

This year’s list unveiled on Tuesday recognises the efforts of ten new beaches and a port in the Var, three beaches in the Alpes-Maritimes have lost their flag.

While 26 beaches in the Alpes Maritimes have received the Blue flag, the La Salis and La Garoupe Ouest in Antibes as well as Bijou in Cannes, have this year had it removed.

53 beaches have the Blue flag in the Var with ten beaches in Saint Raphael receiving the award for the first time.

Meanwhile 31 ports in both the Var and the Alpes Maritimes region have the “Pavillon Bleu” with one new addition this year for Port Crouton in Antibes.  

France’s quality of bathing water ranks 18th in Europe - Meanwhile a report published by the European Environment Agency on Monday has shown that the quality of bathing water in Europe is improving.

France is below average. With 79.5% of excellent quality in bathing water, ranking it 18th in Europe.

Since 2013, the quality of water has constantly improved in Europe, according to the new report, which classifies them in four categories: "excellent", "good", "sufficient" or "bad".

In Europe, among controls carried out at 22,295 bathing spots in 2019, 84.6% are of "excellent" quality.

With 99.1% of excellent quality water, Cyprus tops the ranking. A leading tourist destination, Greece is in fourth position with 95.7% of excellent waters, behind Austria and Malta.

Report by the Bank of France - According to estimates published in the quarterly report by the Banque de France today, the unemployment rate in France could reach a peak of 11.5% by mid-2021.

The system of partial unemployment put in place by the French government will slow the impact of the crisis on employment, but according to the report it will be necessary to wait until 2022 to see it descend to 9.7%.

The Banque de France anticipates a fall of around 15% in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter, marked by a month and a half of lockdown followed by a gradual recovery from the start of the end of lockdown on May 11th.